Uchiha Patriarch !

The next day, after having breakfast at home, Uchiha Itachi stepped out of the house. His younger brother no longer needed him to walk him to school, so Itachi simply followed from a distance, watching Sasuke enter the gates of the Ninja Academy. Only then did he turn around, intending to visit the mission center at the Hokage's office to see if there were any suitable missions available. 

It was late autumn, and the oppressive heat of summer had finally receded somewhat. 

Itachi walked down a quiet alley, preferring to avoid crowded places. The concealed but unmistakable looks of fear and disgust directed toward him were something he could never grow to like. As a result, he chose to take longer, quieter paths, steering clear from main roads. 

Walking along these secluded streets had another advantage—it allowed him to think freely without worrying about bumping into others. 

His mind drifted to the conversation he had with his father the previous night over dinner. His father had suggested he consider going to the frontlines of the battlefield. Itachi still hadn't made a decision; he was hesitant. His childhood memories of the battlefield had faded almost to the point of nonexistence. Yet with his sharp mind, he understood that experiencing war firsthand again wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. 

After all, he was a ninja. And in a certain sense, a ninja is nothing more than a tool for killing. A weapon that hasn't shed blood is just an ornamental piece. 

"Itachi." 

A voice from behind made him pause. 

It was a crisp, pleasant voice, one he was very familiar with. He turned toward the sound, his gaze landing on a girl with a bright, smiling face. She stood gracefully, with long, raven-black hair as glossy as crow feathers, and a small tear-shaped beauty mark below her right eye. She wore the standard forehead protector of the Hidden Leaf Village, and on her back, where Itachi couldn't see, her clothing was embroidered with the Uchiha clan's iconic fan symbol. 

"Izumi, what are you doing here?" 

Since she bore the same Uchiha clan crest, her last name needed no introduction. Considering Itachi's greeting, it was obvious the girl's full name was Uchiha Izumi. 

"Of course, I'm here to find you!" 

She approached him, hopping playfully with her hands behind her back. 

"Looking for me? What's the matter?" 

As his childhood friend came closer, Itachi felt his heartbeat quicken slightly, though he kept his emotions under control, unlike other boys his age who might become restless or flustered. 

"I ran into Senior Ranzan this morning when I left home. He was looking for you but found that you'd already left, so he asked me to find you," Uchiha Izumi explained. 

Inwardly, she thought Senior Ranzan's choice was smart. Even Itachi's father, Fugaku, might not know Itachi's exact whereabouts, but she knew his habits well enough to find him on these quiet back streets. 

"Senior Ranzan?" 

Itachi's brow furrowed slightly. 

He wasn't personally familiar with the owner of that name, but he had certainly heard of it. As a member of the Uchiha clan, it would be impossible not to know the name Uchiha Ranzan unless one was either a young child or an elderly person with dementia. 

The clan members often said that Uchiha Ranzan was the right-hand man of the clan leader. Some even said that, compared to the clan head, who had disappeared to the frontlines, Ranzan was the true controller of the Police Force. 

However, Itachi's knowledge of Ranzan didn't come from the clan's rumors. 

He knew that Ranzan was one of Uchiha Sōgen's closest confidants—now the clan head's, to be precise. Shortly after his father had been overthrown from his position as clan leader, Itachi had been secretly summoned by Third Hokage, tasked with investigating Sōgen and his followers. 

Third Hokage had warned Itachi that Sōgen could lead village to ruin, and that entire Uchiha clan could fall into an inescapable crisis because of him. To protect both the village and the clan, Sōgen and his faction had to be uprooted and eliminated. 

However, before Itachi could gather complete intelligence on Sōgen's faction, Third Hokage was overthrown by new clan leader. Just as Itachi wondered when Third would make a comeback, he received news that Third Hokage had been assassinated by rogue ninjas from Kirigakure. 

Upon confirming the news, Itachi abandoned his now-pointless mission altogether. 

He was unsure if anyone besides himself and the Third Hokage knew about this mission. He wasn't sure if any written records of it existed either. Fortunately, since Fifth Hokage had taken power, no one had approached him to ask about continuing mission, and no clan members had confronted him, accusing him of being a traitor. 

Itachi thought to himself that maybe it was all over now. 

Still, he instinctively kept his distance from new clan leader and his followers, unlike other Uchiha who had eagerly joined ranks of young and powerful leader. 

"What does Senior Ranzan want with me?" 

"I asked him too, and he said clan leader wants you to join the Police Force. He said you're pillar of clan," Uchiha Izumi said excitedly. "I knew it! With your talent, Itachi, it was only a matter of time before clan leader noticed you." 

Although the one being recognized was Itachi, Izumi felt a deep sense of pride and joy on his behalf. 

"He wants me to join the Police Force? Is that an invitation?" 

Unlike the smiling Izumi, Itachi's face remained serious. But Izumi was used to his lack of emotion. When they were younger at Ninja Academy, Itachi used to smile gently, but since graduating and becoming a ninja, his smiles had become increasingly rare. 

"Hmm, I'm not sure. Senior Ranzan said to bring you to the Police Force headquarters. I think he'll probably want to talk to you in person. What's wrong? Itachi, don't you want to join Police Force?" Izumi's keen intuition sensed a trace of reluctance in Itachi. 

She didn't quite understand. 

No matter how bad Police Force's reputation was in village, within Uchiha clan, not just anyone could join. Police Force had a limited number of positions, and only elites of clan could be selected. Izumi had hoped to join Police Force herself but had been rejected. 

"... My father asked me yesterday if I wanted to go to frontlines to gain more experience." 

Itachi offered a brief explanation. 

Though the reasoning seemed a bit flimsy, Izumi didn't press further. Instead, she asked with concern, "So, Itachi, are you going to turn down clan leader's invitation?" 

"I haven't decided yet. But since the clan leader extended the invitation, I should at least meet with him. As for my final decision... I'll figure it out when the time comes." Abandoning his original plan to visit Hokage building, Itachi turned to direction of Police Force headquarters and walked there with Izumi. 

—— 

At the Police Force headquarters, Uchiha Sōgen yawned as he sat in his office. He had spent half night talking with his grandfather, managing to catch only a short nap before sunrise. After a groggy breakfast, he had made his way to the Police Force headquarters, where he had been yawning ever since. 

"Leader?" 

Uchiha Ranzan looked at the drowsy Sōgen with exasperation. 

"Huh? Oh, Ranzan, where were we?" Sōgen asked, rubbing his eyes. 

"Kaguya Kimimaro—what should we do with him?" 

Uchiha Ranzan reminded him. 

"By the way, Kimimaro, Kimimaro... what should we do with him?" 

Sōgen rubbed his face, yawning again, and shook his head as he thought. Honestly, given his current physical condition, as long as he didn't stay awake for several days straight, missing one or two nights of sleep wouldn't leave him in such a bad state. 

He looked like this simply because he wanted to sleep and didn't bother to resist his drowsiness. 

Figuring out what to do with Kimimaro was a tricky problem for Sōgen. Kimimaro, who had already been brainwashed by Orochimaru, was clearly a dangerous person. Putting him in Ninja Academy would be irresponsible for the safety of other students, but aside from Academy, there didn't seem to be any other suitable place to place this troublesome kid. 

It was a good thing that Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzō Shimura were already dead. 

Otherwise, as soon as this kid entered village, he would have been taken away. Kekkai Genkai of Shikotsumyaku was incredibly powerful. Controlling Kimimaro not only meant having a strong fighter in future but also possibility of this bloodline spreading through Leaf Village. 

Sōgen wasn't particularly interested in passing down Shikotsumyaku bloodline. He was more intrigued by ability itself. Plus, Shisui seemed quite determined to teach Kimimaro, so Sōgen decided not to leave Kimimaro in the village's hands. 

However, figuring out how to arrange things for the eight-year-old Kimimaro was proving difficult. Sending him to Academy wasn't an option, and Shisui was on front lines... Should he hand kid over to someone in clan to look after him temporarily? That might not be a bad idea! Shisui hadn't finished what he started, so wasn't it only right for Elder Jun to take over? 

As Sōgen was pondering how to hand Kimimaro over to Elder Jun, Uchiha Ranzan said, "If there's no other option, just send him to Police Force!" 

This suggestion made Sōgen feel as if a lightbulb had gone off in his head. 

Police Force always had at least five Uchiha Jōnin on duty at any given time. Even a genius like Kimimaro wouldn't be able to cause trouble there. During day, Kimimaro could be assigned some grunt work, and at night... well, Sōgen had let him stay at his house for now. 

Shisui lived alone, after all. 

There was no way Sōgen could let Kimimaro stay in empty house unsupervised. This kid needed to be watched. 

Sōgen's parents didn't mind having an extra guest in house. However, old man Genshi had his reservations. He immediately sensed untamed wildness in Kimimaro and voiced concerns about safety of keeping such a dangerous child at home. But since it was only for one night, he reluctantly tolerated it. 

"Putting him in Police Force? That works. I was already thinking about recruiting other families and civilian ninja into the Police Force, and Kimimaro would be a good test case. Plus, to be honest, this kid's skills are impressive. I doubt most regular Chūnin could take him." 

Sōgen perked up, and his drowsiness disappeared without a trace. 

"By the way, Ranzan, did you go find... Uchiha Itachi?" 

"I visited Elder Fugaku's house this morning, but Itachi had already left. I've asked someone to look for him. You'll probably see him later this morning. Why? Do you have some new idea, Captain?" 

Uchiha Ranzan's instincts flared as he noticed the excited look on Sōgen's face. Was he about to stir things up again? 

"Ranzan, what do you think about having Uchiha Itachi manage Kimimaro?" Sōgen asked with a smile. 

"...I guess there wouldn't be a problem," Ranzan said after a brief pause, still not understanding why Sōgen was smiling. Letting Itachi manage Kimimaro... it didn't seem like an issue. Itachi was only a few years older than Kimimaro, and since both of them would be newcomers to Police Force, pairing them together seemed reasonable. Two geniuses—let's see which one can outmatch the other. 

"No problem at all," Sōgen said, dropping the smile. 

Itachi and Kimimaro... an interesting combination, wouldn't you agree? One was a cold-blooded killer who had no qualms about murdering his clan and family, while other was someone who had given everything to Orochimaru out of loyalty. Sōgen was curious to see what kind of sparks would fly when these two collided. 

As the saying goes, "speak of the devil, and he shall appear." 

While Sōgen and Ranzan were discussing Itachi, a knock sounded at the door. 

"Captain, Ranzan-senpai, I found Itachi." 

Uchiha Izumi entered the room, her eyes darting between two important figures as she quietly reported her mission. Beside her stood the expressionless Uchiha Itachi, who bowed to both Sōgen and Ranzan before falling silent. 

"Thanks, Izumi," Sōgen said, slightly surprised as he glanced at the girl. 

So Ranzan had sent this girl to find him... just as expected, Ranzan's efficiency was reliable. 

"It wasn't hard. I knew where Itachi would be, so I found him right away," Izumi stammered, her face flushing red as she hurriedly explained. 

Don't misunderstand—her gaze toward Sōgen was filled with admiration. It was a look Sōgen had grown used to. Ever since he took down Danzō and Hiruzen, his status in the clan had been rising steadily. The younger generation, in particular, revered him almost fanatically. 

Looking at nervous girl, Sōgen smiled but said no more, turning his attention to Itachi instead. 

"Itachi, long time no see! The last time we spoke was during the start of Academy, wasn't it? How's Sasuke doing in school?" 

"Sasuke is doing very well. He's excelling in every test and exam," Itachi said, pride and joy filling his voice at mention of his beloved younger brother. At same age, Itachi had been even more outstanding, but... being a doting brother? It was hopeless! 

"So I promised to give Sasuke a chakra weapon if he did well, didn't I... Ranzan, make sure to prepare a chakra-infused small sword for me. We'll give it to Sasuke later." 

"I got it," Ranzan replied. 

Chakra weapons were expensive for most ninja, typically used only by high-ranking Jōnin or wealthy clans. But for Police Force and Uchiha Clan, a single chakra weapon was no big deal. 

"Itachi, enough with small talk. Let's get straight to the point. I want you to join Police Force. Your talent and skills are top-tier, and with proper training, in a couple of years, you'll become pillar of clan. What do you say?" 

After some brief pleasantries, Sōgen got right to business. 

"Captain, my father said he wanted me to gain experience on front lines," Itachi replied. 

"front lines? Perfect! I won't be staying in village much longer either. After I finish handling things here, I'll be heading north. You can come with me then!" Sōgen slammed his hand on table. "Alright, Ranzan, he's your responsibility now." 

Without giving Itachi a chance to refuse, Sōgen made decision for him. Itachi, usually mature beyond his years, hesitated. Though he felt conflicted, he didn't outright reject the offer. He had been deeply influenced by Will of Fire instilled in him by Third Hokage, leaving him torn between loyalty to his clan and village. 

But now, with the Third Hokage gone and the tension between Uchiha Clan and village miraculously easing, Itachi found himself deeply confused. He no longer knew what was right or wrong. Despite his lingering resistance to Sōgen due to Third Hokage teachings, he couldn't deny that Sōgen hadn't pushed the clan and the village to brink of destruction. 

And so, caught in this internal struggle, Itachi ultimately chose to silently accept Sōgen's arrangement.